By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández wants New Mexico to hit pause on new data centers, saying Thursday that companies should first prove they can protect the state’s water, keep electricity costs from passing onto families and bring jobs and benefits to local communities.
In a press release, Leger Fernández laid out her “No Blank Checks for Data Centers Principles,” a six-point plan that includes several of the same priorities as the data center protections Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland proposed last week. Leger Fernández called for a moratorium on new data center development until companies meet her principles. “We will not give them a blank check,” she said. “Data centers must work for New Mexico, not the other way around.”
The six principles are:
- Don’t hike up electric bills. Data centers must pay for their own electricity and infrastructure without passing their costs on to New Mexico families.
- Don’t negatively impact water resources in the area.
- Use energy sources that meet New Mexico’s renewable energy and zero-carbon requirements.
- Create good-paying union jobs.
- Get community approval and do consultation before permitting and building.
- No taxpayer subsidies; projects must provide community benefits.
Leger Fernández also connected her data center principles to a broader call for federal oversight of artificial intelligence. She said Congress needs to set enforceable rules for AI and data centers, including civil and criminal liability, protections for working families and a greater role for local communities in decisions about what gets built in their neighborhoods.
NMPR reached out to state Rep. Martin Zamora, the Republican candidate challenging Leger Fernández for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District. Zamora did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.